by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
HAMBURG, N.Y. --- Metro Matty saved her best for last as she
cruised to a solid 2-3/4 length victory over Defiant Lady in the first of two
$51,500 divisions of the New York Sire Stakes for the 2-year-old filly trotters
at Buffalo Raceway on Wednesday afternoon (July 6).
In the other bracket, El Mission Goddess let Crazy Lovin do all the dirty work on the front end then popped the pocket in the stretch to grab a 2-1/4 length win in 2:01.4., the same time posted by Metro Matty.
Metro Matty ($2.80), after tucking in behind the early leader Defiant Lady, fired to the front just before the opening panel and set splits of :30.3 and 1:02.1 over the fast track.
The back half saw driver Drew Monti step on the gas with Metro Matty as they covered the remaining distance in :59.3 including a :28.4 final quarter. She left Defiant Lady (Kevin Cummings) and Seven Bridges Road (Mark Whitcroft) in her wake and they had to settle for second and third place honors.
Owned by the Bay Pond Racing Stable and trained by John Butenschoen, it was the second win in three starts for Metro Matty (Met's Hall-Order By Matilda). The victory improved her seasonal and career earnings to $32,250.
El Mission Goddess ($5.90), after breaking in her lone career start, was on her best behavior this time and took her $51,500 division.
The favored Crazy Lovin (John Stark Jr.) showed the way with fractions of :30.0, 1:00.2 and 1:32.0 but had El Mission Goddess (Jim Marohn Jr.) drafting along in the pocket.
With the pair in a two-horse breakaway heading into the lane, El Mission Goddess swung to the outside and trotted past Crazy Lovin who could do nothing but watch in vain. Nice Top Line (Kyle Cummings) collected the show spot.
Trained by Tom Corelli, El Mission Goddess (E L Titan-Athena's Mission) notched her first victory in two career tries, pocketing $25,750 for the victory.
Cross Creek Samara (Brian Cross) is now a perfect 2-for-2 in her brief career with 1-3/4 length score over Jigger Of Gin (Phil Fluet) in the first $15,000 division of the Excelsior A series. Cross Creek Samara covered the mile in 2:01.2 and returned $3.30 for the victory.
Crazy Beach (Shawn McDonough) captured the second classification by beating the favored Pat Way (Fluet) by three quarters of a length in 2:03.3. Crazy Beach returned $10.80 in the mild upset.
In the non-betting $6,200 Excelsior B contest, Mets Girl (Kyle Cummings) got the first place check with a two length triumph over Devious Miss (Joshua Signs).
Justine Irvine and Denny Bucceri each had two victories on the day with Ryan Swift and Gregory Johnson conditioning a pair of winners.
Racing continues on Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. with a 12-race card scheduled. There's an $881 carryover in the Pick 5 which begins in the second race.
For more information including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
